Designed and developed in Broadmeadows, Victoria, manufactured in Thailand, South Africa and Argentina and destined for sale in 180 global markets, the updated Ford Ranger made a spectacular debut in Bangkok, one day ahead of the Bangkok Motor Show.
We’ll see the updated Ranger lineup in local Ford showrooms in the Spring.
Ford Australia designer Dave Dewitt was responsible for Ranger’s new-look which focuses on a revised front-end.
“We wanted a familiar Ford truck but we dialed-up the toughness and put in more tension,” Mr Dewitt told www.carshowroom.com.au in Bangkok.
And that tougher front-end is obvious with the new, larger trapezoidal grille which reaches lower to integrate with the front bumper and is surrounded by muscly air-intakes and brilliant all-new projector headlights.
Accentuating the tough new look is a larger power dome for the bonnet.
All this is the volume-selling XLT model – the sporty Wildtrac version is still to come.
Inside too, the updated Ford Ranger shows-off a new look in which the Aussie styling team sought a more contemporary car-like appearance reflecting the fact that most light trucks in all global markets do double duty as a work vehicle and family transport.
Most obvious are new up-market materials, an eight-inch central touchscreen and a dual TFT instrument cluster.
It’s all much cleaner than the outgoing model – cleaner and ultra-modern.
But more so than the new looks, it’s the technology in the updated Ranger which puts Ford right at the front of the light truck pack.
While the Aussie model range hasn’t been announced, we do know all Ford Rangers will likely feature SYNC 2, the latest generation Ford in-car connectivity system.
But also available are Lane Keeping Alert and Lane Keeping Aid, Adaptive Cruise Control, a camera-based Driver Impairment Monitor with sensors to detect if the driver is getting drowsy, Forward Alert, Front and Rear Park Assist, Tyre Pressure Monitoring System, Electronic Stability Program, Hill Launch Assist, Hill Descent Control, Adaptive Load Control, Rear-View camera and Emergency Brake Assistance.
Ford Australia is confident the updated Ford range will again receive the maximum five-star safety rating when NCAP barrier testing is done.
Underneath, the updated Ford Ranger debuts electric power steering (delivering a fuel consumption saving of 3.0 per-cent).
And powerplants remain unchanged – the 147kW/470Nm five-cylinder 3.2-litre diesel (improved exhaust gas recirculation for better efficiency), 2.2-litre diesel with either 118kW/385Nm or a fuel-miserly 96kW version which saves 20 per-cent fuel consumption or the 122kW/225Nm 2.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol.
Drive is via a six-speed automatic or a six-speed manual (the latter picks-up fuel-saving auto start/stop).
Ford says, again reflecting the changing requirements of light truck buyers, considerable work has been put-in to make the updated Ranger quieter and more refined at all speeds – extra sound deadening is just part of that story.
Matt Bradley, a native of Boston, MA and Ford’s Shanghai, China President of the ASEAN region hosted the Ranger unveiling in Bangkok and he’s feeling particularly buoyed as the updated version heads to market – Ranger sales globally were up by 20 per-cent last year and, as well as it success in Australia, the Aussie-developed light truck is the number one best-seller in several Asian markets including Vietnam, New Zealand, Myanmar and the Phillipines.
